Chapter I: Front Matter

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[_SECOND EDITION.--GREATLY ENLARGED._]

A HISTORY
OF THE
Cries of London.

_Woodcuts by Thomas & John Bewick_,
And their Pupils, &c.

[ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. _All Rights Reserved._]

"We frequently meet with the pieman in old prints; and, in Hogarth's 'March to Finchley,' there he stands in the very centre of the crowd, grinning with delight at the adroitness of one robbery, while he is himself the victim of another. We learn from this admirable figure by the greatest painter of English life, that the pieman of the last century perambulated the streets in professional costume; and we gather further, from the burly dimensions of his wares, that he kept his trade alive by the laudable practice of giving 'a good pennyworth for a penny.' Justice compels us to observe that his successors of a later generation have not been very conscientious observers of this maxim."]

A HISTORY OF THE
CRIES OF LONDON.

Ancient and Modern.

"_Let none despise the merry, merry Cries
Of famous London Town._"

SECOND EDITION.
GREATLY ENLARGED AND CAREFULLY REVISED

BY CHARLES HINDLEY, ESQ.,

_Editor of "The Old Book Collector's Miscellany; or, a Collection of
Readable Reprints of Literary Rarities," "Works of John Taylor--the
Water Poet," "The Roxburghe Ballads," "The Catnach Press," "The
Curiosities of Street Literature," "The Book of Ready Made Speeches,"
"Life and Times of James Catnach, late of the Seven Dials, Ballad
Monger," "Tavern Anecdotes and Sayings," etc._

London:
CHARLES HINDLEY
[THE YOUNGER,]
BOOKSELLERS' ROW, ST. CLEMENT DANES,
STRAND, W. C.

London:--
E. A. BECKETT, PRINTER, 111 & 113 KINGSLAND ROAD.

TO HORATIO NOBLE PYM, ESQ.,
OF HARLEY STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE,
AS _A TESTIMONIAL OF ESTEEM_
FOR HIS PRIVATE WORTH,
AND AS
A PATRON OF LITERATURE:

A HISTORY OF THE CRIES OF LONDON,
Ancient and Modern,

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY
Charles Hindley.

RECTORY ROAD, STOKE NEWINGTON,
LONDON, N.

On or about LADY DAY, 1885, will be published for the same Author, THE HISTORY OF The Catnach Press. To be followed by a New Edition of the CURIOSITIES OF STREET LITERATURE]

Oh, dearly do I love "Old Cries,"
Your "Lilies all a'blowing!"
Your blossoms blue, still wet with dew,
"Sweet Violets all a'growing!"
_Eliza Cook._

The idea of printing and publishing "A History of the Cries of London--Ancient and Modern," somewhat in the manner and style here presented to the public, was first suggested to me by the late Rev:--

Thomas Hugo.

Author of "The Bewick Collector," 1866. The Supplement to same, 1868, and "Bewick's Woodcuts," 1870, etc., and at the time, Rector of West Hackney Church, Stoke Newington, London, N., in the year 1876.

While actively engaged in preparing for publication "The Life and Times of James Catnach late of Seven Dials: Ballad Monger,"--to which the present work may be considered a sequel, and the completion of the series on the subject of the--

"CURIOSITIES OF STREET LITERATURE,"

I had frequently to consult the pages of "The Bewick Collector," and other works of a kindred character for information respecting the elder Catnach, who, by himself, and afterwards in conjunction with his partner, and subsequently his successor, William Davison, employed Thomas Bewick, the famous English artist who imparted the first impulse to the art of wood engraving, for several of their Alnwick publications. This led to my communicating with the Rev. Thomas Hugo, wherein I informed him of my plans, and of the object I had in view with regard to the publication I was then preparing for the press: at the same time soliciting his co-operation, especially in reference to the loan of some of the Bewick wood-cuts, formerly possessed by the elder Catnach, while he was in business as a printer, in Narrowgate Street, Alnwick, an ancient borough and market-town in Northumberland.

In answer to my application, I received the letters that follow:--

THE RECTORY, WEST HACKNEY,
STOKE NEWINGTON, LONDON, N.

_21st August, 1876._

DEAR SIR,

I shall be glad to aid you in any way. I must ask you to see me on
some _morning_, between nine and eleven o'clock, and to make a
previous appointment, as I am a working man, with plenty to do.

Yours sincerely,
Thomas Hugo.

CHARLES HINDLEY, ESQ.,
76, Rose Hill Terrace,
Brighton.

WEST HACKNEY RECTORY,
AMHURST ROAD, WEST,
STOKE NEWINGTON, N.

Tuesday Night. [_13th September, 1876._]

DEAR SIR,

I have been expecting you for the last ten days. In a few hours I am
leaving town for my holiday; I shall not return till far on in
October.

As Brighton is but a short way off, I shall hope to see you on my
return. You shall be welcome to the loan of some Blocks. You had
better examine my folio volume, called "Bewick's Woodcuts," in the
British Museum, and give me the numbers of the cuts, when I will see
what I can do for you.

Yours sincerely,
Thomas Hugo.

MR. C. HINDLEY, SENR.,
(of Brighton,)
8, Booksellers' Row,
Strand, W.C.

WEST HACKNEY RECTORY,
AMHURST ROAD, WEST,
STOKE NEWINGTON, N.

_8th Nov., 1876._

Dear Sir,

I can see you between 9.30 and 10.30 on _Friday_ Morning.

Be so good as to advise me beforehand _what_ you wish to see.

Yours sincerely,
Thomas Hugo.